Let’s do a thought experiment: Imagine two grapplers who do Jiu Jitsu of equal size, athletic ability, and previous experience, who both train consistently for one full year. Grappler #1 learns a new submission every month, so at the end of the year he has twelve finishing moves in his repertoire. Grappler #2, by contrast, trains only one submission throughout the whole year.

All else being equal, when they face off at the end of the year, which of these grapplers has a better chance of winning the match?

Contrary to what you might assume, I say that grappler #2 – the one who has trained only one finish – is more likely to win this encounter. While grappler #1 may have learned a lot of submissions, grappler #2 has mastered his one finishing move. He can perform his submission in nearly any given situation, from almost any position on the mat. His timing with his finish is impeccable, and he can set it up in ways that grappler #1 can’t even begin to imagine.

The reason for the second competitor’s likely victory is simplicity.

Grappler #1 has overloaded his mind with a dozen different techniques, and while he understands them all intellectually, he has not had the time to en-grain each one into his game so that he can flow into it without thinking. He has complicated his style with multiple imperfect attacks. Grappler #2, on the other hand, has kept it simple by perfecting a single attack, and he knows that he can get that submission every time.In competitions between elite-level black belts, the most successful submissions are basic chokes and joint locks that all white belts know. Likewise, the most common knock-outs at the pro MMA level come from simple punches that students learn in their first few months of training.

Now, I am not recommending that you become a ‘one-trick pony’. A fighter who has mastered two finishes is twice as dangerous as a fighter who has mastered one. But keep in mind what it means to master something. You haven’t mastered a technique when you’ve performed it perfectly a couple of times; you’ve mastered it when you can do it perfectly every time, with little effort and no thought.

In short: before you complicate your game with a bunch of flashy moves, make sure you have perfected the fundamentals. You should know the basics so well that you can do them in your sleep. The better you get at those, the more dangerous a fighter you’ll be. And the stronger your foundation, the easier it will be to build on top of it. When you’ve mastered the basics, it won’t be hard to add more advanced moves to your repertoire. Just remember: the better your fundamentals, the better your game.

Keep it simple, and keep working on it. Remember that repetition is the mother of skill. And when you begin to get bored with a technique, you’re about to start learning it.As you perfect your fundamentals, know that the best way to victory is…